“Tory made it home alright with the Reds?” I asked absently.
He nodded, still scanning the crowd. “Yep. Getting rest, just like you commanded, Master Temple,” he said, dryly. I turned to shoot him a dark look, but suddenly grinned instead.
“Dead,” Van murmured into the vampire’s ear, suddenly pressing the barrel of an airsoft gun at the base of Alucard’s spine. It was still in the box, but he had snuck up on us without us knowing. A familiar smell permeated the air and I grinned wider. Alucard, on the other hand, did not.
“Garlic?” I asked casually, pointing at his other hand. It clutched a paper sack of almonds, smelling strongly of cheese and garlic.
“Personal favorite of mine,” he smiled, openly chewing a large mouthful, staring straight at Alucard.
Alucard took one perfect step, dug his hand into Van’s sack of nuts – heh – and withdrew a large handful. He shoved them in his mouth, staring down Van Helsing the entire time. He didn’t blink as he chewed. “My favorite, too,” he grinned darkly, before slapping the bag free of Van’s hand. Van stared in surprise at Alucard – a vampire – eating garlic, but then his face grew darker at the spilled almonds on the floor.
“You owe me three dollars.”
“How about I take you out for drinks instead? I know a little place, off the beaten path, very quiet, not a lot of customers. Practically no customers, really.” He winked. “But you have to bring your own drinks.” He took a step closer, eyes seeming to shimmer a golden hue. “But I already know which one I’ll bring. That is, if you can make it, of course.”
I burst out laughing at the look on Van’s face. He scowled at the two of us. “I’ll just take the three dollars, Twilight.”
Alucard let out a dark laugh. “Rain check, then.”
“Okay, penis-measuring contest concluded. Did you get a job?”
He shot one last look at Alucard, then me, as if verifying it was okay to speak in front of the vampire. I nodded. “Yes. I got it. Wasn’t easy.”
“What, was there a written test or something?” I rolled my eyes, then looked off to make sure the Huntress was still relatively close.
“No, but I did have to kill a Freak to get in.”
I rounded on him. “What!”
He folded his arms. “It’s why I told the Heel we needed to meet. Wanted you to hear it from me.” He watched me, eyes calculating. “Part of the gig. Had to prove my level of interest.”
I took a step closer, prodding him with a finger. “We will have a nice long chat about that later. Maybe Alucard would care to join us.”
Van pushed me back, glaring. “You want me to just waltz on in, tell him I want a job to help him abduct Freaks, run the ring where they kill each other, and then blanch at killing one to prove my mettle? That would have gone over splendidly.” He poked me back. “Silver-spooned bastards like you might not know how to get a job, but I do.” He was breathing heavily, but I kept my glare right on up, even opening my mouth to speak. “Don’t even try to threaten me, boy. I’ve heard them all. And I’m still here.” He let that sink in, and I swallowed. I wasn’t scared of him, but I was… aware of his skills. And I didn’t have the time or energy to fight him. After a few tense seconds, he spoke. “But knowing your weakness for harming Freaks, I kidnapped a kid instead. A werecat. Left a note telling the father to get me the money or I would give him to the Beast Master.”
I felt as if a sudden weight had been lifted from my shoulders. He hadn’t killed anyone. Then his words registered, and the rage came rolling back twofold. “You…” and I suddenly wanted to punch him in the mouth. It was his fault we had almost been killed at the Vaults. The werecat hadn’t been talking about the kid I had seen abducted with Ashley, but the one abducted by… the man I had hired. Which meant…
I had been the cause of the fiasco at the Vaults. Because I had hired Van.
Van saw the look on my face, and frowned. “Relax. I was going to give the kid back for free anyway. My letter told him not to tell a soul. I’m meeting him tonight at a warehouse.”
“You… fucking idiot,” I snarled. “Let me tell you about my day. Really, just the most recent part of my day. I went to the Vaults.”
His brow furrowed. “I heard a big fuss about the Vaults right before I came here. Some guy came running into the sandwich shop where I was eating and told his friend about it. Some robbery attempt or something…” his eyes widened, and he took a step back. “You robbed the Vaults?” he hissed.
I shook my head, glaring. “No, funny story. We were there to make a withdrawal, and what do you know… a werecat is suddenly holding the place up. Saying he needed to get some money to save his kid. From the Beast Master…” I took an aggressive step forward.
His face paled. “Oh, shit.”
“Yeah. Which means the father is likely in custody at the Vaults right now, if not dead.” I poked him in the chest. “If he’s alive, you better get to him, and give him his kid back, and hope to whatever god you believe in that he doesn’t start blabbing about a certain circus in town. He’s an Alpha. They’ll listen if he talks.” I took a menacing step forward. “Did you even have a plan for if he had gotten the money and decided to go directly to the Beast Master with the ransom?”
Van looked horrified, suddenly realizing his own fate if the Beast Master heard about him lying about killing a kid. “Okay,” he stammered. “I’ve got a friend at the bank. I’ll get this sorted.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Fuck me… I thought you would be happy I hadn’t killed anyone. I never meant…” He dropped his hand and met my eyes. “Let’s get this over with so I can get that taken care of.”
I nodded. “Agreed. Give me the highlights on your interview, and anything else I may need to know.”
“Okay, I pretended to kill the kid. With my reputation, he didn’t ask for proof. He watched the father from across the street, and his grief was enough to get me in the door.”
“As long as the father doesn’t elaborate to the Vaults’ manager…” I warned. His face scrunched up in agreement, suddenly concerned. Which distracted him from my newest bestie.
“Hi, Van. Missed you,” the Huntress cooed from directly behind him. He whirled, gasping as his hand reached for a concealed knife. She planted a firm boot into his ass, sending him flying into a tower of paintball canisters, which promptly exploded onto the floor, sending out a bajillion marbles in every direction. Recognizing her, he let out a laugh, sitting on his ass.
“Good to see you too, Love,” he chuckled as she helped him to his feet.
“This is fun,” Alucard smiled.
Van rolled his eyes, and let out a breath.
Two employees came flying around the corner to see the four of us standing amidst the destruction. “We’ve had… complaints,” the younger of the two stammered, eyeing the almonds and paintballs on the ground.
I smiled at them, pointing a thumb at Van. “Just got back from the military. His sister was… overexcited, and knocked over your display. And tore open his nut sack in the process. Sorry.” Their faces flashed red at my choice of words, but I could still see the expectant fear of explaining this to their manager. “We’ll be buying a pretty expensive bow here in a few.” I pointed a finger. “Little sis’ wants her big bro’ to teach her a thing or two.” I shrugged my shoulders, smiling adoringly at the Huntress. “Cute, really.”
“Yes. I fancy a bow.” She sounded as if she was swallowing rancid oil. “So that my esteemed brother can teach me.” Her gaze flicked my way, and then to Van as a dark smile grew on her face. “It will have to be the most expensive one you have. I want all the bells and whistles on it. My brother offered to buy it for me for my birthday. Such a nice brother. I love him so…” Van sputtered, unable to speak, and the employees nodded once before speaking into their radios to call in a cleanup.
“Silver lining,” the Huntress grinned. “I get to kick your ass – literally – and you buy me a new toy. Very thoughtful of you. Sorry about your nut sack
.”
Alucard piped up. “That was me. I just couldn’t help myself.”
Van closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them again. “I find that the longer I’m in your presence, Temple, the sooner I get a rapid urge to empty the contents of your stomach.” He grinned. “Whoops. My stomach, not your stomach, of course…”
“I’m terrified. Now, let’s get back to the BM discussion.”
The Huntress frowned. “Wasn’t that the reference of Van’s joke? Bowel movements?”
I sighed. Alucard placed an arm around the Huntress’ shoulder. “Let the big boys talk about their bowel movements. You and I will go pick out the nicest, most expensive, gaudiest, flashiest bow they have available. Because your brother loves you dearly. You might even find some new bracers, or a quiver, or something. I mean, what wouldn’t your brother do to show you the depths of his love?” He winked at Van as he led her away, giving us space to talk.
“I will stake him. Very soon. And very slowly.”
Chapter 34
I watched the two depart, frowning. “Not sure what good that will do you.”
Van watched him curiously, then turned back to me with the same look. I shrugged at the unspoken question. I had seen Alucard suntan, decline high-quality blood, and eat garlic. He was something new, alright. “Any news on the Grimm?”
He shook his head. “Absolutely nothing. Which is impressive. It’s almost as if she’s not in town. Sure she wasn’t just passing through?”
I scowled at his answer. And his question. “Call it a hunch.” I let out a breath, frustrated. “So, you’re in. What does that mean? What does he have you doing? Have you found the chimera?”
He held up his hands. “Jesus, man. Quiet.” His eyes darted about, checking for nearby customers who might have overheard.
A wave of anxiety rolled over me. “Did they follow you here?” I hissed.
He shook his head. “No, I’m sure of that. But there are other Freaks here. Just commonplace Freaks going about their day, but still. Keep your voice down.” I nodded in relief. “I haven’t actually started yet, but I do know where he keeps the prisoners.”
I nodded. “Yeah, already got that part.”
He was shaking his head. “No, I’m confident that you don’t.”
“The quarry.”
He blinked at me. “You bought tickets. You arrogant bastard. He’ll never see that coming,” he muttered sarcastically. “But in point of fact, he’s not at the quarry. Yet. And neither are the prisoners. My interview process took me to two different warehouses in town, and they each had prisoners.”
I blinked. “What? I thought he only had a dozen or so? Two warehouses?” Damn it.
“But I think he’s going to have them all moved to the quarry during the fight. He’ll need extra bodies to throw into the ring. Also, his whole crew will be there. He doesn’t want to risk having his treasures stolen while he’s otherwise occupied.” I sighed in relief.
“Maybe lead with that next time, bastard.”
“Or I could lead with, I know where tonight’s abduction is going down.” He smiled.
I let out a frustrated breath, seriously contemplating murdering him. “Tell me. Pretty please. Or I’ll murder you to death.”
He grinned, and told me.
“I’ll do my best to try and locate the chimera, and any other general info you might find helpful in your suicide attempt, but Nate… You need to hear this.” His eyes grew distant as he shook his head at a memory. “He has creatures I’ve never even heard about. And he’s had them for a long time. These things are feral. More beast than man. Most of them do not require saving, just killing.”
I was shaking my head. “They’re just kids. They need help.”
He gripped me by the shoulders and pulled me close, inches away. “No. Listen. These things… you stare in their eyes and all you see is wildness. Hunger. Bloodlust. No rational thought. Just instincts. He… breaks them, Temple. On a level that I hadn’t thought possible. Trust me. I’ve hunted Freaks for a long time. I’ve never come across a Freak this far beyond the lines of madness. They are so mad that they don’t even know what madness is any longer. They are beasts, in every sense of the word.”
“Everyone can come back from madness…” I argued.
“No. Here’s an example. After he hired me, he walked me to the cages. Truly horrifying monsters. I would have killed any of them, even if one had been my own son.” Which was saying a lot, because Van had deep, dark issues concerning his son. As the stories went, anyway. “That’s how terrible they were. And I would consider it a mercy.”
“Okay, you saw them living in squalor, hungry, malnourished, injured.”
He held up a hand. “The exact opposite. The last test was for him and I, all alone, without weapons, to stand in the center of the cages. Then he opened the fucking doors.” He leaned closer. “Not one of them moved. They just watched us. And Nate… they were healthy, well-fed, and uninjured. They were in glorious shape. Their cages were fitted with more than most prison cells. Nice blankets, lamps, everything.”
“Okay,” I said after a shaky breath. “So, he has them in his control. They didn’t attack when he opened the door. Stockholm Syndrome.”
Van continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “The BM made me attack him. A little girl watched us. She was with us the entire time, so I think it’s his daughter or something. Or a personal favorite pet of his. He said that if I didn’t try my hardest to kill him, he would kill me. Three archers with bone-tipped arrows aimed at me from above, and he started counting down from three. I panicked, not believing any of it, but let me tell you this. When he got to one, I attacked him with everything I had. He’s good. Highly-trained fighter. But that’s not the worst of it…” his eyes grew cold, dark, and haunted. “One of my punches made contact with the BM. And his beasts lost their fucking minds. Howling, clawing, screaming, destroying their cells in their efforts to get to me. I found myself suddenly swarmed by a dozen monsters with no humanity in their eyes. I was sure I was going to die.”
I stared in disbelief. “You’re exaggerating.”
He shook his head forcefully. “No, and you know what? I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he used absolutely no magic during our fight, or after. The BM smiled at me once, then snapped his fingers one time. The Freaks instantly halted their attack, and trotted over to stand beside him. They nuzzled, licked, and kissed his hands. Then they calmly walked back to their cages. That’s when the BM told me I had the job. And then he used magic to heal me from my wounds.”
I stared at him in disbelief. What kind of power was this? It didn’t sound like mind control at all. It sounded like… Stockholm Syndrome, as I had said. And the little girl with him? Someone else to save? Or someone to use as leverage? These beasts had been under his control for so long that they looked to him as a father. “He’s a wizard of some kind then?”
Van shrugged in exasperation. “I don’t know what the fuck he is. But most importantly, he doesn’t need to use his alleged beast control powers to get his pets to obey. They want to.” He stared at me intently. “So, you may want to reconsider your position. I’m not scared of anything. Never have been. Not really.” He blinked at me, letting me realize the severity of the long pause, before he continued. “I. Was. Terrified.”
I let out a breath, mind racing. The dark voice in my head waited patiently, seeming to listen to every word Van spoke. “Then, why did you meet me here?”
He chuckled darkly. “Because thanks to you, I’m his employee now. The only way I get out of this is with one of us in a body bag.”
“But you just urged me to get out of the situation.” I frowned. “Which would basically condemn you to death.”
Van nodded seriously. “Yes.”
I studied him, surprised. He was willing to convince me to get out rather than to help him out of the mess I had gotten him into. “Okay. Thanks. I’m out of this. See ya later.” And I turned my back on him, wal
king away.
He sputtered in disbelief, and I took a few more steps before grinning over my shoulder. “Just kidding.” And I winked.
“You are the biggest asshole I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting,” he growled.
“Take care of the cat problem. Now.” I glanced at my watch. “We’ve been here too long. I’ll meet you at the abduction as early as possible. If he has as much control as you say he does with his beasts, I dare not let him get his hands on any more victims. And find a way to get to that chimera. I’ll need to know where to find her when this all goes down. I need to make this as seamless as possible.”
“I noticed that your wolf isn’t here.”
I slowly turned, leveling him with a look. “Very observant. Point?”
He shrugged, cocking his head inquisitively. “Just that you seem to be pulling from the bottom of the barrel on this one. I don’t see your bodyguard, your wolf, your girl, or your dragon. Bunch of new talent on the Temple bench. Hell, you even asked me to help, and I tried to kill you a few months ago.” He flicked his chin towards the Huntress and Alucard. “As did she. And the vamp tried to kill you not too long before we showed up. All failed. All now working for you. At the expense of your original crew.” He let his words sink in. “Just pointing things out to you.” Before I could reply, he spoke again. “I’ll get you what I can, and take care of the cat’s father, but I literally can’t risk being discovered, so keep your phone handy, and watch over your shoulder. In case I find anything.”
I glanced at the customers around me, unaware of the dangers lurking nearby. I turned back to Van, and he was gone.
I growled. “You son of a bitch. You were supposed to buy the bow for the Huntress.”
“Already did, mate…” a voice drifted from another aisle, soft enough for me to barely hear.
I raced around the corner to come face to face with an old woman who was clutching a can of pink mace. She shrieked, holding it up, aiming for my eyes. I dove clear with a shout of alarm, shielding my eyes. When nothing happened, I uncovered my face and looked up. She was grinning at me. “Just practicing, boy. This should work fine.” She glanced about warily, and snuck the mace into her purse. She held up a finger to her lips, and winked before turning away, stealing the mace.
Beast Master: A Novel in The Nate Temple Supernatural Thriller Series (The Temple Chronicles Book 5) Page 19
